A solid positional defenceman, Don Johns spent parts of six seasons in the NHL in the 1960s. He also toiled in the minor leagues with the AHL, CHL and WHL in a pro career that lasted over a decade.

The native of St. George, Ontario was a solid player with the Hull-Ottawa Jr. Canadiens and the Fort William Canadiens. He spent his first two seasons as a pro with the WHL's Winnipeg Warriors before joining the New York Rangers in 1960-61 after beating out veteran John Hanna in training camp. Johns enjoyed a solid NHL rookie season, appearing in 63 games and impressing coach Alf Pike with his disciplined play and ability to move forward with the puck. However, he played most of the next season in the AHL after dissatisfying the New York brass by not playing physically in his own end. The young blueliner returned to regular duty for the Blueshirts in 1963-64 when Larry Cahan and Al Langlois were injured.

In 1964-65, Johns was part of a multi-player deal with Chicago that involved such well-known figures as Camille Henry and Billy Taylor. He spent most of the 1964-65 schedule in the CHL before joining the AHL's Buffalo Braves in the Calder Cup playoffs where he formed a formidable partnership with Ed Van Impe. Johns never wore the Hawks' uniform in a regular season game but did play one game for the Montreal Canadiens in 1965-66 and four matches for the expansion Minnesota North Stars in 1967-68. He retired in 1969 after playing the year with the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1956-57

Hull-Ottawa Canadiens

OHA-Jr.

27

2

3

5

12

1956-57

Hull-Ottawa Canadiens

QHL

15

0

0

0

0

1956-57

Hull-Ottawa Canadiens

EOHL

8

0

2

2

2

1956-57

Hull-Ottawa Canadiens

M-Cup

13

0

0

0

2

1957-58

Fort William Canadiens

TBJHL

50

3

14

17

56

4

1

1

2

8

1957-58

Fort William Canadiens

M-Cup

5

0

2

2

12

1958-59

Winnipeg Warriors

WHL

60

4

18

22

112

7

1

0

1

18

1959-60

Winnipeg Warriors

WHL

70

3

21

24

72

1960-61

New York Rangers

NHL

63

1

7

8

34

1961-62

Springfield Indians

AHL

59

3

10

13

14

11

1

4

5

10

1962-63

New York Rangers

NHL

6

0

4

4

6

1962-63

Baltimore Clippers

AHL

69

9

17

26

30

3

1

3

4

2

1963-64

New York Rangers

NHL

57

1

9

10

26

1963-64

Baltimore Clippers

AHL

12

0

1

1

10

1964-65

New York Rangers

NHL

22

0

1

1

4

1964-65

Baltimore Clippers

AHL

26

2

10

12

28

9

0

2

2

14

1964-65

St. Louis Braves

CPHL

23

1

5

6

10

1965-66

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

1965-66

Quebec Aces

AHL

63

2

24

26

78

1966-67

Quebec Aces

AHL

69

1

15

16

54

1967-68

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

4

0

0

0

6

-1

1967-68

Memphis South Stars

CPHL

27

0

9

9

22

1967-68

Rochester Americans

AHL

42

1

13

14

32

11

1

1

2

18

1968-69

Vancouver Canucks

WHL

66

1

22

23

102

7

0

3

3

18

NHL Totals

153

2

21

23

76

Hull-Ottawa played partial schedule against OHA-Jr. teams that counted for OHA-Jr. teams only. Claimed by NY Rangers from Winnipeg (WHL) in Inter-League Draft, June 7, 1960. Traded to Chicago by NY Rangers with Camille Henry, Billy Taylor and Wally Chevrier for Doug Robinson, Wayne Hillman and John Brenneman, February 4, 1965. Traded to Montreal by Chicago for Bryan Watson, June 8, 1965. Traded to Minnesota by Montreal for cash, October 5, 1967. Traded to Toronto (Rochester - AHL) by Minnesota with Murray Hall, Ted Taylor, Len Lunde, Duke Harris, and the loan of Carl Wetzel for J.P. Parise and Milan Marcetta, December 23, 1967. Rights transferred to Vancouver (WHL) after WHL club purchased Rochester (AHL) franchise, August 13, 1968.